A Series of Improbable Events 4: Moments of Transformation
by ErykahMiszti
Summary: It's 2023, and Josh and Donna are back in the White House.


Everyone trailed out and a broadly smiling Bonnie closed the office door, leaving them alone inside for the first time.

Donna reverently put her hands on the desk and breathed deeply to calm herself. It was a very big and, at the moment intimidatingly empty, desk. It was just a lamp, the blotter, a small pile of folders, some pens and a couple of photo frames – a picture of the two of them and a picture of the kids - that someone had set up for her. She'd never had a desk that seemed this empty, but she was determined to fill it. To not let down anyone who'd sat behind it before or the people who'd trusted enough to put her here.

"One thing to be said for the Oval Office..." She began, trying to sound confident. As Leo had told her once; fake it till you make it.

She looked up at Josh to see him looking questioningly at her. She smiled.

"…There's a better quality of frames for the family photos."

"A photo of me on the desk of the President." He deadpanned as he backed away, heading for his own office. "It's what I've always dreamed of." He called as he walked out the door.

She deliberately waited a minute and then shouted: "Josh!"

He popped his head back around the door questioningly, but then saw the grin on her face.

"Really?" He asked sceptically.

"I just wanted to see what it felt like." She replied.

"Minimum age to be President is thirty-five, not five." He reminded her with a smile, and disappeared again.

She smiled and picked up the papers.

XXXXXX

"What do we have next, Bonnie?" Donna asked, flicking through the documents on her desk.

Bonnie looked down her list.

"Defence briefing at 10. Head of the DNC at 11. I've pencilled fighting with Josh in at 1."

"Huh?" Donna asked, looking up.

"Expansion of Medicaid." Bonnie replied.

Donna nodded, acknowledging that she remembered. She focused on one particular page in front of her and frowned.

"Can we push that to 2?" She asked.

"He won't like it."

"Tell him I'll make it up to him later." She said absently.

"Yes, Ma'am." She started to leave.

"Bonnie…"

"Ma'am?"

"Don't tell him that."

"Of course not Ma'am."

XXXXXX

"Are you really cooking?!" Donna exclaimed as she walked into the White House kitchen. "When Margaret said I could find you here, I thought she was joking…"

She looked around at the devastation.

"You don't know how to cook." She stated flatly.

He turned from the big pot holding a wooden spoon aloft.

"Oh ye of little faith." He grinned. He had a streak of red sauce across his cheek and the spoon was dripping reddish-brown liquid onto the floor.

She'd never been more grateful that they had staff to clean this mess up. She made a mental note to send them gift baskets.

Curiosity got the better of her and she leant forward to look at the pot. Her eyes lit up.

"It's Chilli Night?!" She asked, with a huge grin. Grabbing a spoon and tasting it, she found that it was actually nice. She smiled at him appreciatively.

He preened and pointed to the worktop. There - amongst the devastation of discarded cutlery, many many bowls, over turned packets and various unidentifiable food residues - was his tablet, covered in red dust and bits of onion skin, open on an email that contained a recipe.

"I asked Zoey…" He said softly. "…to get the right one."

As she turned back to face him, he shrugged philosophically.

"Now, she said it would be mostly right." He smiled fondly. "He liked to add his own flourishes, and not tell anyone what they were."

Donna looked up at him, eyes shining with love.

"We'll just have to add our own flourishes," She told him. "Till we get it right."

She gave him a quick kiss on lips and drew back to look up at him with adoration once again.

"You better go round 'em up!" He told her with a grin.

"I don't have his flair!" She cautioned.

"Sure you do…" He reassured her and took her hand. "…and his heart. Go get 'em."

XXXXXX

Donna walked up to the door and paused to take a breath.

She felt someone reach out to grip her hand. It was just the briefest touch. They immediately let go. She turned to see Josh standing next to her. His reassuring smile was just a quick flash too before he stepped forward to open the door. He held it for her. She straightened her spine and walked confidently past him into the Sit Room.

"Where are we with the strike capability?" She asked the assembled crowd of advisers.

XXXXXX

"Is it a go, Madam President?"

She had no breath.

"Go." She somehow managed to say confidently.

XXXXXX

"You know, sometimes I'll be on my own in here, and it's almost like he's here with me. When I'm at the desk especially. It's like he standing behind me, trying to give me his strength and support." She mused. "Is that weird?" She asked and looked over at Josh.

He looked totally aghast.

"Yes!" He exclaimed. "Never tell anyone that again. Especially not me."

He looked around the Oval Office, suddenly concerned that Jed Bartlet might appear any moment and start on about some rare moth or something. He shuddered theatrically at shake the thought.

XXXXXX

Josh held her as she cried. She cried like she'd never stop. He just held her.

XXXXXX

"Josh," Her tone was long suffering. "We're not eating the turkey."

"Why not?! Someone's gonna eat it. We're the First Family, we ask for it in advance, we can have it. It's a perk. You can guarantee it'll be a good turkey."

"CJ would kill us."

"She doesn't have to eat it. We'll lay on extra yams or something in case she's hungry."

"We're not having the turkey Josh."

XXXXXX

"Hey."

Josh looked up over the rim of his glasses to see Donna standing in the doorway between their offices.

"Hey." He replied, smiling.

He was sitting on his couch with a pile of papers on the table in front of him. It was late and the only light in the room was the lamp by the couch.

"What you up to?" She asked.

"Economic forecasts." He gestured at the papers in her hand. "You?"

"Defence spending."

He moved over on the couch.

She sat down and immediately cuddled up next to him, with her head against his chest and her legs tucked up. He put his arm around her loosely.

She laid her papers on his thigh and started to read.

He went back to the forecasts.

XXXXXX

"He only speaks Batak. So we'll get a translator in." Graham noted.

"We've… double checked that, right?" Josh asked, a smile quirking at his lips.

"You know I can have you killed, right?" Donna said without looking up.

XXXXXX

Donna watched her fifteen year old daughter throw herself down on the couch. She immediately put her feet up.

"You wanted to see me, Mom."

"I heard you ditched your security detail again today."

"Oh mom." She whined.

"To go off with a boy."

"Mom, it was just for a few minutes…"

"Susan, Aunt Zoey spoke to you about this. You remember, she told you what happened to her when her security lost track of her. How she got KIDNAPPED, and it turned the country upside down for a while!"

Susan rolled her eyes.

"Yeah mom. I've heard it a million times. I didn't leave them for long…"

Josh walked in before she could reply.

"Hey, sweetheart!" He called to his youngest child.

"Hey dad!" She merrily called back.

They high-fived as he walked past, and Donna rolled her eyes.

"What's up?" He asked, flopping down on the couch opposite his daughter.

"Susan ditched her security detail for five minutes." Donna told him.

"Suzie, come on, not again! You know how important it is they stay with you at all times." He admonished.

"But dad…"

"Suebit, do you need to see my scar again?"

"Oh no dad, that thing's gross!"

"Then don't ditch your detail again." He insisted.

"'K dad." She agreed grudgingly.

XXXXXX

"Hey Josh."

He looked up to see Zoey standing in the doorway.

"Margaret said I could come straight in."

He got up from the desk and went over to her.

"Great to see you Zoey." He said and they hugged, both smiling broadly. "Business or pleasure?"

"Business." She said. "I'm here legitimately to brief you on the plans for the India Dinner." She held up her folder. "White House Hostess extraordinaire at your service!"

"Have I thanked you lately for doing this?" Josh said.

"Only a million times."

"You got me out of having to do this stuff, and I am eternally grateful."

"Josh, I love you like a crazy uncle, but I don't think anyone wanted you organising White House functions. Especially after that first one…"

XXXXXX

Josh popped his head out from around the corner of the door to the bathroom.

"I'd like to remind you Donatella that we are both senior States-people, of advancing years, and so we should maintain some dignity and decor…"

He ducked back around the corner as the pillow came flying at his head. It burst against the door jamb and feathers rained down.

He took advantage of it to jump out and hit her with his pillow.

"Argh!" She shrieked.

He grabbed her.

"Ssshh!" He hissed softly, laughing. "You want the Secret Service busting in here?"

"You cheated." She whispered at him, slipping out of his grasp.

"I did not cheat." He whispered back.

"You did." She accused solemnly.

He suddenly noticed that she was backing away towards the bed… and more ammunition!

She grabbed another pillow and came at him. All of a sudden they were hitting each other with them and laughing all the while.

Eventually they collapsed onto the bed in each other's arms, breathing hard.

"You are gonna be the death of me!" He panted. "I'm an old man, Donna!"

"That's not what you said last night." She teased.

"I'm an old man tonight." He was still trying to catch his breath.

He looked around the room. It was a mess. Feathers were everywhere.

"The staff are gonna be giving us evil looks again tomorrow." He turned to her. "Gift baskets?" He smiled.

She looked coyly at him and ran her fingers down his arm.

"I was thinking more along the lines of giving them a raise." She said, looking up at him under her lashes.

He stared at her and she smiled.

"It passed?!" He demanded. "We passed the Living Wage?!"

"I got the call thirty minutes ago while you were in the Sit Room." She smiled wider. "Told everyone to let me tell you."

He'd wondered why people had been behaving a little oddly, but then he'd been distracted…

"So you called me up here and started a pillow fight?!" He was incredulous.

"I was happy!" She replied. "We passed the Living Wage, Josh!"

"You're insane." He said, sighing but smiling. "We got the Living Wage." He said, almost disbelieving.

"We did." She agreed. She did the lashes thing again. "You still feeling old?"

"Are you propositioning me, Madam President?"

"I surely am."

XXXXXX

"What you do think, Charlie?"

"Well, mostly I think it's inappropriate for me to be asked to make this decision…" He sighed. "Can't you ask Zoey or Lou?"

"Come on Charlie… I need a man's perspective." Josh begged.

"Okay. The red."

"Really? 'Cause the blue..?"

"Did you want my opinion or not, Josh?"

"You really think the red's better?"

"Yeah, it'll look amazing against her skin."

Josh lowered the hangers holding the two flimsy nightdresses and gave Charlie a hard look over the top of them.

"Josh, you asked… and I'm leaving now."

XXXXXX

"Don't worry, we've got it covered." Lou replied reassuringly. "We've released your birth certificate and we've pointed the press to the relevant grandfather clause…"

Donna looked at her, still incredulous.

"There are really people saying I'm ineligible to be President because I'm not really a citizen?"

"Yeah." Josh confirmed, laughing away merrily. "People are calling them 'Birthers'."

"Do they not realise I've been vetted by the Secret Service?" She frowned again. "They're really claiming our marriage is all a fake to give me citizenship at all?"

"They think we've been plotting this since Santos." Josh was deeply amused. "We're an elaborate conspiracy!"

XXXXXX

Charlie walked over to stand next to Josh by the monitor. The room was filled with all the technology needed for the broadcast.

Donna was sat behind the desk, addressing the nation, with absolute confidence, comfortably relaxed in her authority, and with a brand of charm all her own.

Charlie looked over at Josh to see him watching her, transfixed with blatant awe and admiration.

He smiled and looked back at her too.

XXXXXX

Message left on the answering service of Toby Ziegler:

"You sit on a throne of lies! You know that skit on free trade was totally misrepresenting our position! I'm onto you Toby! Stop trying to push us to the left on this! It's alright for you, up there in your ivory tower, comedy genius, office in the sky, the rest of us are still working down here in the trenches, doing the actual job of governing!

Hope you're all set for coming down here this weekend. We've got a great game lined up! CJ and Danny are in town. Zoey's gonna make a big batch of those awesome sliders. Lou's threatening to take us all DOWN! Especially you, for that crack about the budget deficit. When are you two gonna get over yourselves and just admit you've got the hots for each other already? Oh yeah, when hell freezes over. Gather ye rosebuds Toby! Donna sends her love. At least, I think that's what that gesture means…. Ow, Donna! Have a safe flight, Toby. See ya Saturday."


End file.
